Thiruvananthapuram: Before the dust has settled over Kerala Communist Party of India Marxist leader and industry minister, E.P. Jayarajan, appointing his nephew as managing director in a government enterprise, the party is facing more nepotism charges.
This time, the party is accused of preferring kith and kin of top leaders in appointments as government pleaders.
The development comes after the government cancelled the appointment of Jayarajan’s nephew as managing director of Kerala State Industrial Enterprises.
The new accusation is that nearly a dozen lawyers who are relatives of senior CPM leaders have been inducted as government pleaders.
Interestingly, the All India Lawyers’ Union backed by the CPM has itself reportedly expressed strong dissatisfaction over the appointments of near and dear ones of senior CPM leaders.
Among those leaders who are accused of appointing family members and relatives as government pleaders are Koliyakode Krishnan Nair, C.M. Dinesh Mani and C.N. Mohanan.
Many of the lawyers associated with the Left-leaning lawyers’ union are upset that senior CPM leaders have chosen to appoint their kith and kin as government pleaders, overlooking their more competent peers.
The ruling CPM was further embarrassed when the Communist Party of India mouthpiece, Janayugam wrote an editorial condemning the alleged nepotism practised by the CPM.
In the editorial, the newspaper argued that nepotism was indeed corruption and that no kind of interpretation about the situation would make it otherwise. The editorial went on to add that pointing fingers at the corruption allegedly practised by political opponents to justify oneself would not carry any weight before the people and the law.
Senior CPM leader M.M. Lawrence advised that the party adopt a transparent stand, and come clean on the nepotism charges. He said such incidents should be avoided in future, and reminded that the CPM had come to power, riding on an anticorruption plank against the previous United Democratic Front government.
Kerala Opposition leader, Ramesh Chennithala has demanded a probe into the charges of nepotism against industry minister E.P. Jayarajan and others.